Lost in Transition? Women in Rural and Underserved Communities
Demographic Trends and Policy Options
co-organised by the European Commission, Population Europe and the United Nations Population Fund,
with Alanna Armitage (Director of the Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the United Nations Population Fund), Colin Scicluna (Head of the Cabinet of the Vice President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography), Leo van Wissen (Professor of Economic Demography at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences of the University of Groningen and Researcher/acting theme group leader at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute) and other leading international experts.
Friday, 4 December 2020, 11:30-13:00, Berlin time
online in English via Zoom (translation service in German and French will be offered).
Topic: In recent years, policy challenges related to population decline in rural and underserved communities have gained attention at the European and national levels. Changes in the population structure have a clear gender dimension: These areas tend to offer fewer employment opportunities for women than for men; are often combined with less attractive living conditions for young families, such as primary schools and childcare facilities; and have poor transportation infrastructures. Such issues can prompt particularly well-educated women to leave these regions, thus contributing to an increasing educational gap between rural and urban areas. Consequently, rural areas facing population decline often end up with an older age structure, a gender-imbalanced labour market and less support for aged individuals in need of assistance. What policy measures could help provide more attractive living conditions and better and innovative job opportunities for women in these communities? What support is needed for women to become a motor for economic growth and sustainable development in rural areas?